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I think we’re due a break from the sad Disney Studio stories that have monopolized this blog for the past 48 hours or so. I say we move on to sad Disney Theme Park stories.

Well, you and I might find them sad. John Marr finds them fascinating.

So fascinating that he’s taken “Death at Disneyland,” the lead story from issue #13 of his uniquely titled fanzine, Murder Can Be Fun, and updated it to include the tragic events that have taken place at Disneyland in the sixteen years since issue #13 was published. The rewritten results are available in Murder Can Be Fun #20, the ‘zine’s final issue, released earlier this month.

Vanity Fair it’s not, but Marr is an excellent writer with an ear for florid overstatement, i.e. “…beneath [Disneyland's] glittering facade lurks something malevolent, something lethal.” He details the true stories of those who met an unexpected end in The Happiest Place on Earth. For those of you scoring at home, the Matterhorn, Monorail, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the sailing ship Columbia have each claimed a victim, as has the Carousel of Progress. The PeopleMover has claimed two lives, two others were lost in the Rivers of America, and two people met their maker, rather than the Snow Monster, on the Matterhorn.

A copy of #20 (which includes “The Phantom High Roller of Glitter Gulch,” “The Denture Murder Case,” and lots of other non-Disney true-crime stories in its 48 pages) will be sent to you postpaid if you send $2 (in cash, postage stamps, a check or money order) to John Marr, P.O. Box 640111, San Francisco, CA 94164. Sure to be a collectible someday, if it isn’t already.

Isn’t Life Terrible?

"Isn't Life Terrible" is a Charley Chase short from 1925. The title was derived from a 1924 D.W. Griffith film, "Isn't Life Wonderful?" Other Charley Chase film titles that ask questions are "What Price Goofy?" (1925), "Are Brunettes Safe?" (1927), and "Is Everybody Happy?" (1928). Chase abandoned his titles with question marks for titles with exclamation points during the sound era.
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